


The One Who Survived

by Ingoma



Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Angst, Choking, Confusion, Gen, Lost in a Mansion, Lots of Trauma., Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Permadeath, Person calls themself the vex's toy., The Vex are kinda Evil here?, Toying with person, Vex - Freeform, Vex Magic, mind wipe, trauma.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:01:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25659412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ingoma/pseuds/Ingoma
Summary: Intellectually, Cub knew it was pointless. They let him run, try to escape. Then they drag him back, crying. It was a game he could never win, a game where the only winner were the Vex.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 37





	The One Who Survived

Cub sobbed.

Lost in the mansion, bleeding, tired. He could barely see, his vision blurred, as he stumbled forward through the hall, one foot in front of the other. The floor was hard, the carpet thin. Every small noise made him flinch. There were many noises.

Intellectually, Cub knew it was pointless. They let him run, try to escape. Then they drag him back, crying. It was a game he could never win, a game where the only winner were the Vex. That didn’t stop the small voice in his head, the one that never gave up, pushing him onward to the next hallway. It was why the Vex hadn’t disposed of their toy as quickly as Cub’s friends had been.

He still remembered the first one. Laughter at the absurdity had turned to cries of pain. Cries of pain had turned to screams as she realized the Vex didn’t stop, that even as her health ran out they kept going, until she had broken, leaving an empty corpse behind. Permadeath. 

Cub blinked in a sudden light. This room had glowstone, lighting that blinded Cub. He stepped forward, feeling the slightly warm powdery light. The heat reminded him of how cold the mansion was. His exhaustion told him to curl up and sleep. Hide in the light, after all, the shadows never worked.

He dismissed that thought, and almost felt a small feeling of praise at it. He shuddered with fear at that. He may be the Vex’s toy, but the reminder didn’t help. They were watching him. They knew everything that went on inside their mansion. You couldn’t escape. You couldn’t hide.

His second servermate to die was the first to realize this. When the Vex said they would kill who they found, someone had told them to kill him first. The Vex enjoyed the loyalty, and let them live. Instead, they killed the youngest and smallest, who had been sitting in a corner, quiet. The boy had hoped not to be noticed, yet died anyway.

(The loyal one had snapped. He was number three, after a week of challenging the Vex, he had attacked a ven and succeeded to damage it. The Vex decided he was too dangerous to keep alive and tore him apart, piece by piece, finger by finger, the man laughing as it happened.)

When Cub saw the small ven, he didn’t attack. He hid, letting the smaller vex pass. Not even a shudder of fear passed through him as he hid. He only flinched as the Vex’s approval grew louder. Why were they so _loud_ today? Was he doing something wrong? Cub shut the thoughts down. It didn’t matter why, only that he escaped. They knew everything, but maybe they had a blind spot. Maybe they overlooked a window, something he could climb out and away from the eyes of the Vex.

And their laughs. He could hear the chuckles, the giggles, the demented sounds that some players mistook as just for fun and games. The Vex weren’t fun, they were cruel. They craved power, they craved money, and they craved pain and ruin. The fourth to die had been killed when she struck back, destroying precious diamonds and magical artifacts with her claws when she found them, vengeance for the dead. The Vex strung the cat up, ripped out her whiskers, claws, and canines, letting her starve as she begged for mercy, for a taste of food. Wait, no. She’d been the fifth. The fourth was her friend who tried to sneak her a piece of bread.

The next room was empty. So was the next. The third contained a mirror. Cub stepped back, surprised by how much he had changed. His hair had grown long and unkempt, but with bare patches from where it had fallen out. The beard was rough, but a small similarity from before he had been taken. He was thin, bones instead of muscles, and the few clothes he had on were raggedy. Nothing like the strong scholar he had been. He looked wasted. Six, seven, and eight had wasted away too. They gave up.

Cub tore himself away from the reflection and kept moving onward. He took a deep breath to try and clear out his head of the laughter of the Vex. He was number nine. The sole survivor on his server. There was no one left to remember them but him. No one left for the Vex to hurt. He should just antagonise them, attack them, flutter against the cage to prove he is strong.

He wasn’t strong. 

He was broken.

He had survived by giving up and doing what the Vex wanted. They wanted him to be their plaything, so he made it fun by running and acting like he had a chance. There were no chances. Cub was tired. His muscles ached, his eyes were dull. He sank to his knees, unable to move or cry. The Vex proded his fading mind. Their giggles were so loud. Cub covered his ears, focusing his strength on blocking the sounds of murderers.

They kept laughing. Cub kept falling in his mind, too tired to move, but he couldn’t go unconscious. The Vex wouldn’t let him. They felt disappointed they couldn’t keep leading him down an endless maze. It wasn’t fun. They wanted to play with their toy. Cub may be forced to humor them, but he was still human. His body couldn’t take endless corridors. The Vex agreed. _They would let his body rest._

_Rest_. Cub would have sobbed if he could still move. He just needed rest, for ten minutes. A reprieve until the next experiment, the next game. True to their word, the Vex left his body alone.

_His mind, however, was fair game_. 

Cub inhaled sharply in fear. He tried to impress on the Vex the need for mental rest, for quiet. 

_Are you telling us no?_

Cub couldn’t breathe. Cub couldn’t breath. Cub couldn’t _breathe_. His lungs wouldn’t move, his mouth wouldn’t inhale. He kicked sporadically, trying to find the invisible force choking him. 

_No, I’m not! Please I’m sorry please._ Cub begged. _please let me breathe_.

The Vex hummed, thinking amogst themselves. After what seemed an eternity, they let Cub breathe. He gasped for air, letting it fill up his body, letting him think. It was far from the worst thing the Vex had done to him, but it was up there. Never tell the Vex no. Let them do as they please with your body, and maybe your mind will be safe.

So focused was Cub on air, he hardly noticed the Vex intrusion into his mind. They started slowly, watching the small tremors of his body as they plucked the strings of his mind. They didn’t go further today, having already decided to grant the body a reprieve. 

_You have been doing well._

Cub didn’t understand. The Vex never had praised him before. It felt… good. But wrong. Very wrong.

The Vex must’ve sensed his unease. Their laughter was a cacophony in his headspace, raising his heartbeat in absolute fear at the horrific noise. This only made the Vex louder, taking pleasure in the trauma Cub had undergone. Or was Cub taking pleasure in his own fear? He couldn’t tell in his cycle of never ending terror. 

_I-i’m sorry._ Cub projected, praying to any god out there that the Vex would not be angered. 

_We are your gods._ The Vex murmured, distaste in their voices at Cub’s thoughts. It was true. They had control over Cub, trapped in their mansion as he were. They could control his body, his mind, they took everything and expected Cub to give everything. They were a malicious god, but a god nevertheless. 

_You think we are cruel._

Cub refused to think about that. He buried it deeper into his mind. They would get angry, he did not want them to be angry. They were displeased anyway. The Vex gripped his mind, their tendrils searching, violating, deeper and deeper, until they found the answer.

_We are not solely cruel._

You’ve never been kind, Cub thought idily. 

_Have we?_

_You’ve… you’ve killed…_

_Have we?_

Cub couldn’t remember. He tried to. What were their names? What were their haircolors? Where they mob or player? But Cub couldn’t recall. The names, the faces, they were ripped away as soon as he grabbed them, like a starving man having food ripped from his hands each time he tried to nibble. He begged with them to stop, to give his mind a reprieve. They didn’t even laugh, they felt bored. Endless mazes and exhaustion was fun, but shifting memories was… standard. How many players had had their minds warped by the Vex? How many more would?

_Have we?_

No, they hadn’t. Cub didn’t even know what they meant. The Vex had taken him in, away from the empty world he had lived in before. Cub had no purpose beyond them. The Vex giggled at that feeling, sending waves of joy into Cub’s tired body. 

_You will make a fine ConVex._

Cub felt confused. What was a ConVex?

_Oh little toy, we’ll have so much fun together._

Something inside Cub was screaming, like he should be scared. The Vex have been nothing but good to him. Why would he be scared?

He loved the Vex. He was to be their ConVex. He was happy about being their ConVex.

With that thought, the Vex let him sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I might add on to this AU. I have a lot of Vex ideas floating around.


End file.
